Men don't pine
by SussiRay
Summary: Hotch has a problem. He's admitted to himself that he has feelings for Emily and now he can't concentrate... He has to do something! H/P Please review! Updated 20/4
1. Chapter 1

Men don't pine

A/N: Hey guys! This is my first ever CM fanfic... I hope it's ok. It's not beta'ed so all the misstakes are on me... Oh, and this is supposed to take place around mid-season 4

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, if I did there'd be shirtless Fridays at the BAU...

**Chapter one **

Aaron Hotchner was sitting at his desk. His eyes turned towards the open door where his colleague had stood just moments before. The words of David Rossi echoing in his mind.

"_Aaron you're not as discreet as you might think. Don't think I haven't noticed you making googly eyes at her. Do yourself a favor and stop pining for her and do something about it!" _

But Rossi is wrong. He isn't pining. He is after all not a 14 year old girl. He's a hard-assed, gun-carrying, suit-wearing FBI agent. And hard-assed, gun-carrying, suit-wearing FBI agents do not pine.

_But you do like her._ A smug voice in the back of his mind, sounding an awful lot like Rossi, told him.

Well...he had to admit that. He _had_ admitted that actually. About four months ago he had realized that he is attracted to one of his subordinates. But that is so out of character for him that he tried denying it. He really did. But then came what he was now referring to as "the purple sweater day".

*** _flash back ***_

That day started out just like any other day. He arrived at the office early. He was always there before anyone else. Well, sometimes Emily would be there early too but not that day. He did some paperwork, signed off on a couple of files and then JJ came to show him the case they were presenting to the team that morning. Police in California needed a consult on a case with two missing women. He put his paperwork away and closed the door to his office. He looked down into the bullpen as he made his way to the conference room noticing that the rest of the team already was sitting round the table except for JJ who was standing next to the whiteboard.

He sat down in the empty seat between Emily and Reid where he always sat and something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Breasts!

And not just any breasts..._Emily's_ breasts covered by a dark purple sweater. A dark purple sweater that was hugging Emily's curves in a very distracting way. And just that hint of cleavage showing in the deep V neckline. And it was just _too _tight. He was sure he could make out the pattern of her bra and it was doing funny things to him. He could feel butterflies in his stomach and a warm tingly sensation a little south of his bellybutton. It took him all of his willpower just to drag his eyes from those purple clad breasts.

After the briefing he had hurried back to his office and closed the door behind him. The rest of the team had probably thought that he was in a bad mood or something because they had stayed well away the rest of the day. And that was fine with him because he was not up for being social and had made a great effort to avoid everyone, especially Emily, the rest of the day.

***

He was pretty sure that nobody had noticed his brief wandering eyes. After all who is better at keeping a straight face than SSA Aaron Hotchner? Nobody, that's who!

And he had tried really hard not to let his eyes go down that road (the one that leads down Emily's blouse) again. So he was rather confident that nobody suspected that he had any other feelings than strictly professional ones for her.

But after that incident he had to admit to himself that he's attracted to Emily Prentiss... his subordinate. God, if Strauss ever found out it would definitely be the end of him. They would use him as an example at the sexual harassment seminars.

But he couldn't help himself. After his realization he found himself more and more just sitting and staring at her through the blinds. And whenever she smiled her radiant smile he could feel his own dimples wanting to make an appearance. He would start teaming himself up with her more often and he would sit next to her on the plane. He just wanted to be near her. Nothing was more comforting to him than her scent. That girly yet oh so sexy combination of vanilla and coconut.

Then one morning maybe two months ago he had woken up feeling really content. He briefly wondered why he felt like he had had the best night in ages and then it started coming back to him.

The dream he had just had. He remembered silky pale skin and dark eyes and red lips. And those soft full lips pressed hard against his. And her lying under him...

And that was when he had realized it. That was what made him know for sure. Aaron Hotchner has feelings deeper than just friendship for Emily Prentiss.

Plus he also _really_ wants to see her naked.

***

Emily Prentiss was sitting at her desk writing down her account of their latest take down. It was late and she was getting tired. But she wanted to get this done. Nothing is less fun than having to come in early to do paperwork. Even if coming in early most of the time meant being in the office alone with Hotch. But then again Hotch rarely hangs out in the bullpen. He's usually locked up in his own office doing his own paperwork.

And lately he had been hiding away in his office a lot more. And he had been acting really strange a couple of times. She was really confused. Or maybe she wasn't... shecould think of a couple of reasons why he'd been acting strange. But she didn't want to get her hopes up...

But just a few months earlier she had caught him checking her boobs out. He didn't know that she had caught him because... well because he was busy looking somewhere else (down her shirt!) and it's not like she was going to tell her boss, her _very attractive boss_, to stop ogling her chest. That would have been really awkward...

But she still wasn't in any way shape or form sure that he'd done it because he was attracted to her.

Oh, God... maybe he had figured her out... and he was avoiding her because he didn't want things to be awkward between them. Or he was trying to find a way to let her down gently. Oh please God don't let it be that...

After all after the boob staring incident she had never caught him looking at her that way again. So she really wasn't sure whether she should chalk that incident up to him just being a guy who maybe was feeling a little lonely and who had caught sight of some breasts. Or if it was that he had caught sight of _her _breasts.

But then again when she thought about it there was one more incident a couple of months later. It was nothing like the boob staring incident but it still was a little strange.

It was one of the very few, like "able to count them on the one hand" few, occasions that she had been at the office earlier than Hotch. She had had a pile of paperwork doing its very best impression of Mount Everest to do and if she didn't want to sit there the whole weekend she had to come in at 6.30 am to get it done.

At around 7.30 Hotch showed up looking not quite as well put together as usual. He wasn't looking at her and she was pretty sure he didn't know that she was there. That suspicion was confirmed when she said "Hey, Hotch" and he startled, stopped and looked wide eyed in her direction. She gave a little wave but he didn't seem to notice. His eyes kind of glazed over and he just stood there. For probably a good 30 seconds. Then he just snapped out of it and his face turned beet red and before Emily had a chance to ask what all that was about he mumbled a "Good Morning, Prentiss" and scrambled up to his office. The next time she saw him was at the briefing and by then he was back to being stoic SSA Hotchner so she just shrugged off his strange behavior and assumed he had just been surprised that someone was at the office earlier than him. It really did _not_ happen often...

***

Hotch was still sitting at his desk thinking about Dave's words and about Emily. And that purple sweater. As he was doing that he got an overwhelming feeling that he just had to look at her. He knew that she was still at her desk out in the bullpen. She was usually one of the last to leave. And she hadn't been by to say good night so he was convinced that she was out there. He slowly walked up to the window not wanting to be seen by someone. Especially not by Emily...

There she was. Sitting by her desk her head bent down. Her dark hair fanned out over her shoulders. The white shirt she was wearing in stark contrast to her raven locks. Then she raised her head. Stretching her slender neck first to the right then to the left. He started feeling that by now all too familiar warm feeling in his stomach. Then Emily turned her head and looked right at him. Apparently he was not as well covered as he had thought because a smile spread across her lips when her eyes met his and she gave him a little wave. He gave her a small wave back.

_Crap! Way to go Aaron! What will she think now? She's going to think I was staring at her... which I kind of was... but she does not need to know that. I'm her boss... Bosses should not stare at their subordinates. Bosses should not have those kind of thoughts about their subordinates. It's as easy at that. _

He felt his cheeks grow warm and he knew that by now they would be a nice shade of candy apple red. Just like they had been that morning two months ago when he had found her sitting alone in the bullpen at 7.30 in the morning. The one morning he was a little later than usual she had to be there earlier than she usually would. The morning he had woken up feeling really content. The morning after his first ever sex dream about a colleague. The morning after his dream about Emily in nothing but lacy red underwear.

_* * * flash back* * * _

That morning two months ago he woke up feeling really good about himself. And feeling a little tense also... down there... Then pictures came flooding back. Emily laying on his bed in nothing but a lacy red bra and panties. Him removing said bra and running his hands down her silky stomach and down the inside of her thighs. Her soft red lips pressed against his chapped ones. Her body pressed hard against his. Her hands in his hair. His hands on her breasts.

After that he had to bolt into the bathroom and take a long cold shower. That was why he was at the office a tad later than usual. He usually took an efficient 5 minute shower. This shower somehow went on for almost half an hour. Until he was completely sure that all urges was sufficiently drowned in the cold water.

He still got to the office pretty early and was more or less certain that he would be the only one there. So when he heard Emily's voice saying "Hey, Hotch" he was completely taken aback. He stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned his eyes towards her desk. She was sitting there pen in hand and smiling at him.

And just like that all of the urges he thought he had drowned came crashing back. And thoughts of naked Emily came whirling back into his mind. And all of a sudden Emily was sitting by her desk wearing nothing but those red lacy panties... just like in his dream. She was smiling alluringly at him and looking at him under heavy lids. Her mouth formed the words "come here" and he almost started walking towards her but stopped himself.

_Wait a minute now Aaron..._ his rational mind caught his attention.

_This isn't real. This is a figment of your imagination. Emily is most certainly NOT sitting naked in the middle of the bullpen. You, Aaron, are dreaming again_.

He snapped to, realizing that he probably had been standing there for...

God, he had no idea how long he had been standing there just looking at her like a fool. It could have been several minutes.

He felt his cheeks growing hot and he quickly managed a quiet "Good morning, Prentiss." Using her last name to try and seem a little less suspicious. He did not fool himself into thinking that it would work. He realized that he was not looking his best. So with the speed of an Olympic sprinter he made his way up to his office and did not come out again until the briefing two hours later. His trade marked SSA Hotchner mask back in place after a lot of hard work.

***

Now when she was looking at him that same feeling came back. His cheeks grew warm again. The butterflies came back. And into his mind came the picture of her in that lacy underwear.

_I'm going to go crazy if this is going to happen every time I see her. Maybe Dave really is right (urrgh what a horrible thought). Maybe I am pining..._

He sat back down at his desk putting his head between his palms and taking a deep breath.

_I'm attracted to Emily Prentiss. I have feelings for her. And even if she does not feel the same way I have to tell her. Or someone will have to come with a straightjacket and take me to a nice padded room._

He looked out his window again. Still at her desk.

_I have to tell her... The only question is... How?_

A/N: Tell me what you think! Pretty please with a cherry on top...


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading and all the lovely reviews! You guys are great! I had no idea that reviews would be so addictive...**

**Okay so here's Chapter 2. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2 **

Hotch walked through the glass doors and into the bullpen and took a look around. He was the first one there. Of course. But he was in exceptionally early. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night. His decision lingering in his mind mixing with naughty dreams of Emily. So he decided to go to the office and see if maybe he could get his thoughts together there. And maybe get some paperwork done at the same time...

He had to find a way to tell Emily that he's in love with her. But he, the tough-as-nails FBI agent who has stood face to face with deranged serial killers without flinching, was scared. He was scared shitless. He was scared of telling a girl how he felt. It was over twenty years since he had done it the last time and he wasn't sure if he still knew how. And he was definitely not sure how she would react. What if she laughed... thought he was joking.

No... he had to suck it up. He _had to_ do this. He had the possibility of happiness right in front of him and he wasn't going to fuck it up this time. He was going to tell her and just hope for the best. Hope that she felt the same way.

Now he just had to figure out what to do and what to say. He had actually been quite romantic when he was younger. He did after all join the drama club in high school just to get to meet Haley. And in the first half of their marriage he was still really good at doing small romantic gestures like leaving little notes and buying flowers "just because". That romance left his marriage a few years before his wife left him. And after that he had thought he would never have the need to be romantic again so he just buried that part of him. But now he needed that part, the Aaron part, again and he was really afraid that he wouldn't be able to find him. But he had to. For Emily. She deserves something great. He can't just call her up to his office and blurt out "I love you". It has to be something special.

He knew what his body, well certain parts of it anyway, wanted to do. He had dreamed about it more than once. In those dreams he pulled her into a supply closet and tore her clothes away and ravaged her. The cave man in him really wanted to do just that. Drag her with him to some secluded area and push her against a wall. Then he would make her scream his name. Over and over and over again.

But he was not delusional. He knew that dragging her into a supply closet would not help his case. It would not get him what he wanted. The only thing that would get him would be a slap in the face and perhaps a swift knee to the groin. And that was _not_ what he wanted.

* * *

Emily was as usual one of the first to arrive in the morning. She glanced up at Hotch's office like she always did. The lights were on but the door was firmly closed. That meant that he was there but that he didn't want to be disturbed. Poor Reid had made the mistake of walking straight into Hotch's office without knocking when the door was closed once. He had been lost in thought and just kind of wandered in not really thinking about where he was going. That had earned him one of Hotch's _talks_. _The talks_ generally comprised of you sitting in the visitor's chair by his desk and him telling you how disappointed he was. So far Reid and Morgan had had the most talks. Morgan usually after taking down a dangerous unsub by himself and Reid usually after setting small fires during some kind of physics magic. She had only been in that chair for a talk once but what a talk that had been. But she didn't think about that anymore. That was behind them. It's hard holding a grudge when you feel about someone the way she feels about Hotch.

Just thinking about him made her tingle. His piercing dark eyes and strong jaw. Oh! And those cheekbones... and the dimples! She melted every time she saw those dimples, which granted wasn't very often. If she had any say those sexy as hell dimples would come out a lot more often.

She could only imagine what he had hidden under his regulation blue suit. But she would bet every thing she had on that it would make her weak at the knees. On especially complicated cases or when they had a case somewhere warm he'd sometimes take his suit jacket off and roll up the sleeves of his dress shirt. Once she had been sitting right next to him when he had rolled his sleeves up and she had caught sight of his bicep flexing under the white fabric of his shirt. And from that she could tell that he was in _very_ good shape.

She had had several vivid dreams where the suit and dress shirt would just melt away revealing strong arms and flat abs. God how she wanted to put her hands on those abs. And her lips... Mmmmm...

"Hey, Princess! How far away are you? Whatever you are thinking about must be very nice judging from that smile... Or maybe you're thinking about someone..."

Emily was rudely pulled from her daydream about Hotch's naked body. She turned around to glare at Morgan.

"For your information this smile is a result of me figuring out how to pawn off more paperwork on you." She lied... "Just you wait Derek Morgan... you won't see it coming but I promise you that pile of files will grow."

She got up, shot him another glare and stalked off to the kitchenette to get her second cup of coffee that morning.

***

All morning Hotch had been alone in his office. But he hadn't gotten very much work done. He just couldn't concentrate. After thinking about how he was going to tell Emily that he's in love with her for maybe an hour he gave up. He couldn't think of any clever way of telling her. So he figured he'd do some paperwork and then come back to it later and had opened a file.

Half an hour later Hotch's eyes were still fixed on that same file but he wasn't reading it. In his mind Emily was still very present. In this particular fantasy she was sitting on his desk in that curve hugging dress she wore when she had to seduce Viper (_God, he had hated that idea_). She was pulling him towards her and her lips were on his neck and her hands...

_Stop it Hotchner!_ He thought to himself.

He shook his head trying to rid himself of the thought of Emily's hands on his body.

_Okay I have to stop doing this... I have to stop the fantasizing and do something about it. I will never get any work done again if I don't. I have to decide on something now._

Hotch really tried to think of some wonderful way of telling Emily about his feelings. He really did... but so far he had nothing.

He had thought of sending her flowers – _To ordinary. Emily isn't ordinary so this shouldn't be either._

He had thought of writing her a letter and leaving it on her desk – _To impersonal. She deserves to be told in person._

He had thought of buying her jewellery – _He'd certainly do that at some point but this was not that time._

He had thought of staging a romantic scavenger hunt – _Who was he kidding? He'd never be able to do something like that. _

He had even toyed with the idea of a song-o-gram – _Come on! He must be really desperate..._

He was screwed. He'd never be able to think of something himself. He needed help. But who could he ask?

He was sure that Garcia would be able to think of something quirky and fun to do... but he had no interest in the entire BAU finding out about what he was up to and Garcia couldn't keep such a secret to save her life.

JJ would probably also come up with something sweet and romantic. But would she be able to not hint something about it to Emily? Probably not, if he knew one thing about women it's that they talk to each other.

Morgan would surely be in favour of the "grab her and drag her into the supply closet" method. And that he had already dismissed.

If he tried asking Reid the young genius would probably splutter some statistics on courtship rituals before blushing profusely and stumbling off.

No, he would have to go to the one person who already knew of his predicament. He'd have to go to the thrice married reason behind most of the fraternization rules. He would have to go to David Rossi for advice on women.

But hey, he would have had to have done something to get those three women to marry him. Maybe he had some great examples of grand romantic gestures to share... Then again maybe not... But desperate times...

***

The briefing went by in a haze. Luckily there was no case that needed their involvement at the site. There were a couple precincts that needed consults and he divided them between Morgan, Reid and Emily. The three of them went out into the bullpen to work on their respective consult, JJ went back to her office and left Hotch alone with Rossi in the conference room.

"Dave..." Hotch started tentatively.

"Yeah, Aaron?" Dave turned to look at him.

"Dave, I need your help with something. Something delicate. Something that will have to stay between the two of us..."

"Let me guess..." Dave cut him off. "You want me to help you tell Prentiss how you feel? Hell, I'll go and tell her right now if that's what you want. No need for beating around the bush. Don't you think?"

That made Hotch rush to stand between Dave and the door.

"That wasn't really what I had in mind, Dave." Hotch told him regaining his calm. "Emily is a fantastic woman. She deserves something amazing. It's just been so long since I did something romantic that I can't seem to remember how to do it anymore."

A smile spread across Rossi's lips.

"Don't you worry, Aaron. Let me think about this a little and let's see if I can't think of something. After all it was only wife number three that married me for my name. The first two I actually had to wine and dine and all that crap."

"Wow, that sounds reassuring Dave." Hotch crooked his lips in a tight smile, a dimple almost appearing. "But I guess that I have no other choice... I am after all a very desperate man."

***

Sitting at her desk Emily was _really_ trying to concentrate on the case in front of her but she was finding it incredibly hard to focus on the task at hand. She was thinking about Hotch. She still had a feeling that something was off with him. And the last few days that feeling had become more intense. He was acting strange. But not with everyone. Just around her. He wasn't looking at her. At the briefing he had been standing instead of sitting in the chair he always sat in. The one next to her. And he was becoming more and more of a hermit. He was always in locked up in his office... Okay maybe that wasn't any unusual behaviour. But usually he'd come out to get coffee. Usually around the same time as her. But now he seemed to be using the coffee maker in his office.

She just _had to_ admit it to herself now. He knows. He knows all about her feelings. He knows she's in love with him and he's trying to send a message. He's not interested. Thanks, but no thanks.

She turned and looked towards his office. The lights were off. She turned towards the conference room instead. There he was. With Dave. It didn't look like they were discussing a case. Dave was smiling and Hotch was looking a little flustered.

_Oh no. He's told Dave and now he's helping Hotch figure out a way to let me down easy. _

Rossi has clusters of women all throwing themselves at him so he must have some experience letting women down. There was no doubt in her mind that he also had plenty of experience happily accepting what they offered, but he was only one man and couldn't possibly make time for all of them.

No, that was what they were doing. They were coming up with a way for Hotch to tell her that he knew how she felt, knew that she wanted him. He just didn't want her back.

**A/N: Please let me know what you think! Pretty please with Hotch on top...**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks so so much for reading and for all the reviews! You rock!**

**Here's Chapter 3.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 3 **

A couple of days after their conversation in the conference room Rossi sauntered into Hotch's office not caring about minor matters such as knocking. He had more important things to attend to.

"Dave?" Hotch looked at his colleague. "Anything I can do for you?"

"No, Hotch, this is about what I can do for you." Rossi answered. "I have a plan..." A smug smile spread across his face. "I'm going to get you laid, Aaron"

* * *

Two days later Emily was as usual one of the first to arrive at the BAU. A few feet away from her desk something caught her eye. On her desk was a flat brown package and an envelope. She didn't recognize the handwriting but on the envelope was her name written in black ink. She had no idea who would give her a gift or a letter for that matter. But it hadn't come through the mail so it must be someone working in the building.

Maybe Morgan was playing some kind of prank on her... No... he wouldn't do something as subtle as this.

Or maybe "Agent Grab-ass" from Counter Terrorism had thought that her threat of bodily harm actually had meant "please send me some creepy gift and a sleazy letter"... Or maybe not. She was pretty sure he didn't know how to write.

Then who was it from? Well... only one way to find out.

So she sat down and swiftly tore off the simple brown wrapping-paper and revealed a copy of _Slaughterhouse-Five_. She was pretty sure that it was a first edition. This confused her. Not a lot of people knew about her love for Vonnegut. She tried to conceal her inner nerd best she could. She wasn't even sure if anyone on the team, except for Derek, knew about it.

Then she remembered the envelope that had been attached to the package. She'd just have to read that and she'd find out who the gift was from. So she opened the envelope and pulled out its content. She unfolded the piece of crème coloured paper and eagerly read what was written on it.

_Emily,_

_I can't begin to tell you how much you mean to me. Every time I see your radiant smile I melt inside. _

_Love..._

* * * Flash-back to Dave's plan * * *

"You'll have to get her curiosity going."

Dave looked at the younger man sitting on the other side of the desk.

"First you write her a few nice little notes telling her how lovely you think she is. But don't sign them. Actually it's probably best if you just give them to me and I'll rewrite them word for word so she doesn't recognize your handwriting. And I'll make sure they show up on her desk."

* * *

Emily let out a breath that she hadn't realized that she was holding. Someone cares for her. Someone melts when he sees her smile. Could it be? No, it couldn't. He wouldn't do anything like this. He wouldn't risk his career. Or hers. And she'd never told him who her favourite author was. No, this must be someone else.

She looked around the bullpen trying to spot if anyone was looking her way. Reid had his nose deep in a book. Morgan was doing something on his computer (probably messaging Garcia). What if it was those two pulling her leg? No... they wouldn't. Would they? No...

She looked up at Rossi's office. Could it be? No, he'd never do something romantic like this. He'd just ask her if she fancied a roll in the hay.

Who else could it be? Anderson? No, he just got engaged. Smith? No she's pretty sure he's gay.

Please... don't let it be "Agent Grab-ass"...

* * *

Again the next day when Emily arrived at work she found a gift on her desk. It was a small bowl filled with kumquats. The sight of it made her laugh out loud. It was her favourite fruit. She didn't really care for the taste but she loved saying the word... _kumquat_... It was her favourite word. Then she noticed the creme coloured envelope next to it and her bag didn't even hit the floor before she was pulling the note out of its casing.

_Emily,_

_Have you any idea what you do to me? Every time I see that twinkle in your beautiful eyes butterflies fill my stomach._

_Love..._

* * * Flash back to Dave's plan* * *

"I don't know Dave." Hotch looked disbelievingly at the older man. "I wouldn't know what to write." He shook his head. "What if she doesn't like what I write..."

"Trust me Aaron. She'll love it. Just think of her when you're writing and it'll all come to you. You'll know what to write."

Hotch thought about it for a moment. He didn't really have any better idea himself and he had to admit Rossi's plan was pretty romantic. It was just lacking one thing.

"Okay, Dave let's do this your way. I just want to add one thing"

* * *

Every morning the next couple of days a new gift was waiting for Emily at her desk. She got her favourite chocolates, she got her favourite perfume and she got her favourite scotch. But all of those were things that she really didn't think that many people knew were her favourites.

And every morning there was a note together with the gift. He wrote about how he loved that she was an excellent shot and how pretty she looked with her hair in a ponytail. His words made her float. She didn't even care about the fact that she didn't know who the gifts and notes were from. They could be from "Grab-ass" for all she cared. They made her day.

She _did_ register how sad that was, that presents and notes from some random guy made her day. But in all the darkness that surrounded her every day it was nice to get something like that. Of course it'd be even nicer if she knew who they were from...

At weak moments she thought that they might be from _him_ but she snapped out of those fantasies again quickly. This wasn't something that Hotch would do. He's not the kind of guy who writes romantic notes. Plus he had more or less been avoiding her the last few weeks. So no, they weren't from him.

* * *

When she drove to work the morning after she had received her fifth note together with a box of Reese's peanut butter cups she could think of nothing but those letters. She desperately wanted to know who they were from. She parked her car and hurried to the elevator. She rushed up to her desk and found what she was hoping to find. On her desk stood a vase full of pale pink roses, her favourites, and attached to the flowers was a new note.

_Emily,_

_You must know now that you are my favourite._

_Please make me a very happy man and meet me at Marcel's in Georgetown tonight at 8 o'clock. I can't wait to finally tell you how I feel in person._

_Love..._

* * *Flash back to Dave's plan* * *

"Then after you have given her all those gifts and notes decide on a romantic restaurant and arrange to meet her there." Dave finished.

"That's a pretty good plan, Dave." Hotch smiled. "Simple but nice. This might just work..."

"What did you think? I do have some experience with women you know... Trust me, the notes will work and if you then just tell her how you feel and don't screw that up everything will work out." Dave patted Hotch's shoulder. "So you know where to take her?"

"I'm deciding between two restaurants, Little Fountain Café and Marcel's..."

"Both are good... just let me know which one you choose and I'll write it in the last letter."

"Thanks, Dave..."

"No worries, Hotch. Just let me know how it all turns out."

* * *

At 8 pm sharp Emily arrived at Marcel's wearing a new dark green dress and a nervous smile. She looked around the dining room but couldn't see anyone she recognized.

"Excuse me?" She asked the maître d. "Has anyone asked for Emily Prentiss?" She clutched her purse harder as she waited for the answer.

"No, sorry." The maître d answered. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Oh, I don't know... I'm supposed to meet someone here."

"Okay... why don't you take a seat at the bar until your date shows up."

"Thank you."

Emily made her way over to the bar and sat down ordering a Martini. She shifted in her seat so that she could see the front door. Sipping her drink she couldn't help but feel a bit dispirited.

* * *

At 8.30 pm Hotch was sitting at the cosiest table that Little Fountain Café had to offer still holding the dozen pale pink roses that he knew were Emily's favourites (he'd overheard her telling JJ in the break room one time months earlier). Tiny beads of sweat was starting to appear at his hairline and along the collar of his blue dress shirt. Ho took a small sip of his scotch and tried batting away the fear that was creeping up in his mind.

_She's not that late..._ He thought to himself. _She could still show up._

For the fourth time he had to tell they waiter that he was not ready to order yet and the look of pity in the eyes of the people around him was starting to irritate the hell out of him. He finished his scotch and checked his watch for the umpteenth time. Six minutes past nine.

Maybe he should just admit defeat. Maybe he'd been kidding himself with the gifts. And he had really poured his heart into those notes. It hadn't been easy for him. He'd felt strange showing that much emotion. Even if it just was on a piece of paper. But he wanted Emily to know how he felt. And now she wasn't coming. Maybe she figured out the notes were from him and now she was avoiding him not wanting to make things awkward between them. God, this was _not_ how he'd imagined this evening.

***

After three hours and three Martinis Emily gave up. No one had come up to her and revealed himself as her mysterious gift giver. She hadn't seen _anyone_ familiar in the last three hours. So that was that then? That was what came from those oh so romantic little notes? Being stood up and not even knowing by whom.

Maybe it had all been some sort of prank. Or maybe whoever send her the gifts had chickened out at the last moment. Frankly, right now she didn't even want to know. Right now all she wanted to do was to go home, crawl into bed with a bottle of wine and a pint of double chocolate ice cream and forget this ever happened.

* * *

Hotch walked with slow steps back to his SUV. The pink roses hanging limp in his hand. He realized that he was still holding on to them and in a sudden fit of rage he threw them across the street. Breathing heavily he told himself to calm down. Nothing good would come from him losing his temper in a public place. He'd just have to go home to his empty apartment. Maybe open that bottle of bourbon Dave had gotten him for his birthday and try no to think about having to go to work the next morning... where he'd have to face Emily.

**A/N: Ooooh! How will this turn out!? One chapter left... and then I can be persuaded to write some follow ups...**

**Please let me know what you think! I'm addicted to reviews... please feed my habit...**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and for all the reviews for the third chapter!**

**Okay the beginning here is a liiiittle angsty... it will get better...promise!**

**Last chapter... Here we go!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds... **

**Chapter 4**

Hotch woke up feeling like complete and utter crap. It wasn't the bourbon though. He _wished_ this shitty feeling was a result of alcohol but he had only had a sip and then decided that drinking himself into a stupor wouldn't help him. No, he would have to go to work the next day with a clear head. He didn't know what he would do when he saw Emily. But he knew that being hung over wouldn't help the situation.

He staggered over to the bathroom and got in the shower all whilst replaying the previous night in his head. Under the jet of warm water he thought about sitting in that stupid restaurant clutching those pathetic pink roses being asked over and over again if he was ready to order. And every time he had to say no and that his date wasn't there yet.

As he thought about what had happened he could feel himself getting more and more aggravated. He wasn't mad at Emily. Hell, she probably had no idea who was sending her those gifts and in their line of work you kind of got a little wary about things like that. So the chances that she would actually show up had probably been pretty slim. But he had been so caught up in his own fantasies and his pining for her that he'd fooled himself into thinking that an intelligent woman would happily meet up with a complete stranger.

_Damn it!_ The feeling of anger took him over and he kicked the shower wall. Toes against tiles in a battle the tiles won.

"_Son of a bitch! That fucking hurt!"_ Expletives were flying from his lips as he jumped on one foot clutching his now bleeding toe.

* * *

Emily woke up with a mind-blowing headache. She couldn't blame the Martinis, she'd only had three and they weren't that strong. No, this particular headache was a result of her letting her guard down. She'd been so excited about being that person to someone. Being the one to make someone smile only by doing something as simple as just smiling herself.

She slowly got out of the comfort of her warm bed and into the cold air of the bathroom. Standing in the shower as the warm water washed over her she let her mind slip back to the night before. She would never admit to it if asked but she had really hoped that the mystery man would turn out to be Hotch. His strange behavior the last few months had made her hope of feelings between them stronger than she'd dare realize.

But this couldn't have been him. He'd never do something like this. He'd never stand her up. He, if anyone, would have the balls to tell a woman upfront that he wasn't interested. No, this was someone playing a mean prank on her or someone who didn't dare confront her. The more she though about it the angrier she got. She shouldn't be depressed. She should be _pissed_ _off_... and thankful that she got off the hook as easy as she did.

_Screw him!_ He wasn't good enough for her anyway!

Invigorated by her new point-of-view Emily arrived at the BAU a little earlier than usual. She glanced at Hotch's office but the lights were off. This was obviously one of those unusual days when he wasn't the first to arrive. Well, she had paperwork that wasn't going to do itself (unfortunately) and what better time to do it than when she was here all alone. So she went to the kitchenette to get some coffee to try and rid herself of her headache before getting started.

* * *

A little later than he'd usually arrive Hotch hobbled into the bullpen. There he was met by the scrutinizing eyes of Dr. Reid.

"Hey, Hotch. What's happened to you?" Reid asked looking down at Hotch's feet.

"Nothing. I'm fine." Hotch growled back.

Not spotting the irritation in the tone of Hotch's voice Reid continued.

"There's obviously something wrong... you're limping. You weren't yesterday so this must have happened in your home. Did you know that most accidents happens at home...it's quite interesting actually..."

Looking up he could not miss the death glare that Hotch was sending his way so he swallowed whatever statistic he was about to deliver and watched in silence as Hotch stalked off towards his office.

"What was that all about?" Morgan asked as he walked up behind Reid.

"I have no idea. All I did was ask why he was limping. I think he's in a bad mood. Maybe you should go talk to him."

"I am not going in there." Morgan stared at Reid. "You do it."

"No way!" The genius exclaimed. "He'll bite my head off again."

"So? You only use it to store information. What about me... what would all the ladies have to look at if I didn't have my pretty head? Plus you know that he responds best to you when he's in a mood..."

"Oh, no! I'm not falling for that again. I'm lucky to be alive after the last time. You know the time he'd been in a six hour meeting with Strauss and you said I should ask him if he wanted to grab a beer. I thought he was going to shoot me..."

"Come on kid, that was four years ago. Get over it."

* * *

Emily stood in the kitchenette for the second time that morning struggling with the coffee maker which apparently had decided to stop making coffee.

"Come on you stupid thing... Work!" She hissed at the machine.

"Ooh! Someone's got a bee in her bonnet!"

Emily turned around and was met by an explosion of colors and patterns. And a tiny pink top hat on top of big blonde hair.

"Care to share why you are having a fight with an inanimate object, Pussycat?" Garcia asked half smiling.

"He's such an _ass_!" Emily exclaimed throwing her hands in a defeated gesture.

"Uh, who is?" Garcia asked a bit confused.

"I _don't know_! That's the problem..."

"Okay, Lollipop you lost me there... Someone is an ass, you just don't know who?"

Emily looked at the technical analyst standing in front of her now with a concerned expression on her face. She decided to tell Garcia about her mystery man.

"About a week ago I started getting these notes..."

"Oh! Threats!?" Garcia cut her off.

"No, no... nothing like that... They were love notes actually and they came attached to gifts. And the gifts were really sweet. They were all of my favorite things. But nothing was signed so I don't know who they were from..."

"Oooh!" Garcia squealed. "You have a secret admirer!"

At this point Garcia was bouncing up and down clapping her hands. But when she saw the expression in Emily's eyes she stopped.

"Why am I the only one excited here?" She asked.

"I was... I was really excited too... until last night..."

"What happened last night?" If Garcia had been sitting down she would have been on the edge of her seat.

"We were supposed to meet. He'd chosen this really romantic restaurant to meet at and then he didn't show up." Emily answered looking down on the floor. "I sat there for _three _hours."

"Oh, my vision... I'm so sorry." Garcia said as she walked over to Emily and scooped her up in a tight hug.

* * *

Rossi had seen the exchange between Reid and a limping Hotch from his office and had hurried into Hotch's office.

"Aaron... you look like crap. What happened?" He asked

"I feel like crap." Hotch didn't see the point in stalling, Dave would eventually figure out what had happened. "She didn't show up."

"I'm sorry Aaron... I don't know what to say."

"It's okay, Dave. I guess we should have thought of this possibility."

"Maybe we should have... But, Aaron don't let this deter you. You should still tell her how you feel."

Hotch didn't answer so Rossi took that as his cue to leave. As the door closed Hotch looked up at where Dave had stood seconds ago. And he remembered what Dave had told him when he had stood in that very spot almost two weeks earlier.

"_Do yourself a favor and stop pining for her and do something about it!"_

He was doing it again. He was pining for her and now he was also feeling sorry for himself. But there was no time for a pity party here. He wanted Emily Prentiss. He was in love with her and it was about time he did something about it.

He looked out into the bullpen but he couldn't see her. Okay... so he'd just wait till she got back. He wanted to do something about it... he just wanted to do it in the privacy of his office. And this gave him the chance to prepare a speech.

* * *

Emily walked back into the bullpen, without coffee seeing as the coffee maker had decided to go on a permanent strike. She sat down at her desk and was cheerily greeted by Reid.

"Hey Emily, what's up with you?"

"Oh just shut up, Dr. Reid..." Emily snarled back.

"What?! Do I have a bullseye painted on my forehead today?!" Reid snapped back.

"Why? What do you mean?" Emily asked a lot less snappy.

"Hotch is also in a bad mood today..."

"Hotch?! Why is he in a bad mood?"

"No idea... and I'm _not_ planning on finding out either... I like my job... _and_ my head"

This confused Emily. Hotch was rarely in a bad mood. His somewhat sombre demeanor and lack of visible emotions made some people think that he was a sour ass. But she knew that he wasn't. He was quite sweet actually. It was just the heaviness of their job and his high integrity that made him seem that way.

Starting on some paperwork she reached over to grab her pen. As she did that she saw the bowl of kumquats still on her desk. Her first thought was to throw them out... But then it hit her. Then she remembered...

She remembered who she had told about her favorite word. It had been during a case four months earlier and she wanted to lighten the mood a little so she told him that kumquat was her favorite word. He had shot her a small glare as she had asked what his was. He had said that it was "apprehended suspect" and she had said that that was two words. That had almost lured out both dimples.

She quickly got up from her chair and rushed up the stairs and into Hotch's office not bothering announcing herself. She closed the door behind her and turned to face him.

She could tell that he was about to say something but she didn't give him the chance.

"You're my favorite too... and I love you"

He stared at her a few short moments. The surprise clear on his handsome face.

"I'm sorry, what?!"

"I love you. I figured it out, Hotch... I'm sorry I didn't do it earlier but I've figured it out now. The gifts... they were from you. You are the only one who knows that kumquats are my favorite fruit... because I told you it's my favorite word four months ago..."

He didn't respond. He just looked down at his hands. She was getting really nervous now.

"I love you too..." He said softly without looking up. "Is that why you didn't come last night?" He looked up at her. "Because you didn't know that it was me..."

"Wait... what do you mean? You're the one who didn't show up. I waited three hours at Marcel's last night."

Confusion spread across both their faces.

"_I _waited three hours for _you._.." Hotch said with a small smile. "At Little Fountain Café..."

The realization of what had happened made Emily laugh. Probably because of all the pent up tension suddenly letting go of her. They had both been waiting for each other for three hours last night... just in _different_ restaurants.

"So... we both just sat their like fools?" She smiled. "How did that happen?"

"I blame Rossi..." He answered. At her confused smile he added. "I'll explain later." And then he got up from his desk and over to her and wrapped her in his strong arms.

His lips close to her ear he whispered "I love you, Emily."

"I love you too, Hotch." Emily answered and then she let her lips touch his. Just a sweet and gentle kiss but with a promise of more to come.

As they broke apart Hotch looked at her and smiled a smile displaying both dimples.

"I'm sorry this got so complicated...Maybe I should have just gone with my first instinct..." He said only half joking.

"And what was that?"

"To grab you and drag you to the nearest supply closet."

Emily didn't say anything. She just turned on her heel and walked towards his door.

"Wait! Don't go. I was only joking..." Hotch hissed. "Where are you going?"

Emily turned again to face him with a bright smile playing on her lips and a dark twinkle in her eye.

"To see if the supply closet's free..."

The End

**A/N: Woohoo! That was it. **

**Thank you so very very much for reading "Men don't pine". Hope you liked it... I liked writing it... so much so that I can easily be persuaded to do a couple of follow ups...**

**Please review! **

**// Sussi**


End file.
